Synthesis of Structurally Diverse Polyfunctional Pyrrolo[1,2‐a]quinolines by Sequential Iron‐Catalyzed Three‐Component Coupling and Gold‐Catalyzed Hydroarylation Reactions

Abstract A simple and efficient synthesis of complex pyrrolo[1,2‐a]quinoline derivatives was achieved through sequential reactions that involved an iron(III)‐catalyzed synthesis of N‐(2‐alkynylaryl)pyrroles and a gold(III)‐catalyzed intramolecular hydroarylation reaction. This strategy tolerated a wide range of substrates with a variety of sensitive functional groups and afforded the corresponding pyrrolo[1,2‐a]quinoline derivatives in moderate to good yields. The ease of availability of the starting materials and the generality of the reaction sequences make it a highly attractive strategy to synthesize a diverse range of pyrrolo[1,2‐a]quinoline derivatives. Moreover, a preliminary photophysical study showed that the resulting molecules exhibit good fluorescence activity.